


Silent Longing

by lilacnightmares



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: First Crush, First Love, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Blue Oak, One-Sided Attraction, Or Is It?, Pining, Taunting, Teasing, galar region, legend, myth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25130107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacnightmares/pseuds/lilacnightmares
Summary: Red tries to figure out the best way to confess his feelings to Blue. Galar might just have the best way yet.Work from Tumblr.
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Comments: 9
Kudos: 139





	Silent Longing

“Can you even believe this, Red? I didn’t think we’d ever be heading out to a region where Pokémon are said to grow to impossible size! I mean, a Snorlax is pretty big but one that’s the size of a skyscraper?” 

“...” 

“Well, I’d say it’s a massive discovery. I imagine you would’ve given me a run for my money back in the day a lot sooner had ya’ had a Pokémon that big.” 

Red glanced at him.

Blue snorted, “Yeah. That’s what I thought. Gramps told me they’ve got a League over in Galar too. The Champion there has been reigning supreme for a solid decade. I heard he was our age too. I bet you’re thinking about how you want to take that guy on, huh? It might make up for the fact that that kid back in Alola, Moon, beat you royally, fair and square.”

There was an unamused expression on Red’s face. Blue only laughed at that and clapped him on the back with a firm push. “Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone about that yet. Although, it was nice to see that there are still people that can give ya’ a run for your money. Apart from me, that is.”

The hum of the train’s engine roared in the background as the countryside of Galar steamed ahead full speed past landmarks and grassy fields that seemed foreign to both Red and Blue alike. It wasn’t the first time that they had traveled together to another region, and it wouldn’t be the last time. 

Professor Oak had mentioned it and there seemed to be no backing down from the challenge when Blue brought it up. Red wasn’t often all that curious about what went on during those trips that Blue took, but now that he was on one of these little quests for knowledge and information, he didn’t know what to do with himself. 

Pikachu nuzzled its head against his hand. He rubbed back to settle down the Pokémon’s attention span. 

Galar was a long way from Kanto. 

That was for sure. 

Far from the mountain that he had been training on and far from his home in Pallet. It was a change of pace for once, and he wasn’t going to complain. A chance to battle and hone his skill more? Of course, he was going to take it. There was always room to grow and get better, no matter how long he had been training. 

It had been over ten years now, too. 

Ten years of training and reaching for heights that he couldn’t touch. He had become the Champion when he was only ten years old and he had to keep pushing to see what his next step and challenge was going to be. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure what he was aiming for other than to be the best. 

People called him the best and one of the strongest, but he knew that he could be better than that and even better than even that. 

However! 

If there was one thing that Red knew it was that Blue was always going to tease him and taunt him no matter where they were or what they were doing. It just seemed to be the way that their relationship had turned out after all of these years. Blue would be the brazen one would tell it like it was and Red would silently go along with him. 

They may have butted heads once, but that had been years ago and they were both in a better space than they had been when they were just kids reaching for the top of the Pokémon League; Blue had been cocky and he had been the one to always push him to the edge. 

He couldn’t have asked for a better rival back in those days. 

Red might not have pushed himself and his team as hard if he hadn’t had a rival that he wanted to beat. His smug face being crushed after he lost a battle had been satisfying in a lot more ways than he was aware of at that time. 

As it turned out, Red realized a little too later that those feelings of his—

The notion that he wanted to beat Blue and show him who he should be following after had not simply just been from a petty spat between two boys that wanted to prove who was the top dog of all top dogs. It had been because he wanted Blue’s eyes on him, the spotlight wasn’t exactly his dream.

No, he wanted Blue to look at him and see him for him. 

More than just a rival, more like a—

It wasn’t a pointless thought, but out of all of the things that Red had done in his life, from defeating the Elite Four to taking down Team Rocket and well beyond that, it seemed like the real challenge of his life had nothing to with Pokémon and more so something to do with another person. 

Someone that he had known his entire life and yet, he felt so far away from him these days. Well, to be fair, they were rather busy doing their tasks. Red was training and continuing on this journey he started years ago, and Blue, when he wasn’t in the Viridian Gym, spent a lot of time studying and traveling. 

Blue always said that training and battling was his way of life. But, studying and learning as much as he could about Pokémon just as Professor Oak did was in his blood, and he couldn’t stop himself from becoming curious. 

His studies took him all over the world and to places that Red couldn’t even begin to imagine. 

Red’s travels had only taken him to some neighboring regions to compete in tournaments now and again. Exploring them and seeing Pokémon with unbelievable strength had set in motion this sense that life wasn’t always going to be the way that it was. Nothing was ever going to be set in stone. 

What he knew now may not be what he knows in the future! 

He should have figured that out when the revelation of an entirely new type of Pokémon had traveled across the world and everything that they thought they knew about Pokémon had to be retooled and relearned. 

Time is a fickle thing and it wastes for nobody. He knew that because a Celebi could come and whisk you away at any point if you weren’t careful about where you found yourself walking in the forest. Now, that had been a story to share. Nevertheless, he and Blue were here in Galar to learn and study. 

There was no schedule. 

They were just going to be walking around and looking for data, seeing what could be seen and meeting up with the local Professor when she cleared her schedule to come and chat with them on the lore and background of her region. Blue was excited about that, no doubt wanting to use that knowledge he gained to rub in the face of anything that looked at him. 

Blue may have matured but he was still that same smug kid. 

The one that he couldn’t get out of his head. 

Even his Pokémon knew that he had it bad because he had caught a glimpse of his Pikachu snickering at him whenever his cheeks got flush and he had to tug down the fabric of his hat to avoid anyone noticing the pink. Seemed like everyone in the world apart from the one that he wanted to know about his feelings knew what was up.

For someone that said that he was going to learn everything and know everything that he could, Blue Oak was pretty dense. 

Well, it wasn’t like Red had been dropping hints in anything but a subtle way. He didn’t quite know how to express his feelings in an obvious way. He had asked Daisy and Green for advice but they had laughed at him and gave him different advice from the other. 

Daisy said that he couldn’t wrong with just asking him outright. Green jokingly said that he should tell him by bringing up their rivalry and how Red wanted it to be more of a partnership instead. 

Yeah, Red didn’t take their advice. 

So, when he and Blue exited the train, they split up. Red took one path and Blue took the other path so they could start their exploration and meet up in the next town over to talk about what they had or hadn’t found. Along the way, Red happened to come across someone who needed help from an angry Pontya. 

When he saved them, they informed him that they were on a quest to locate a Pokémon that would bring true love that would last forever if it was gifted to someone. It was an old legend passed down through Galar. 

Red wasn’t one to doubt an old legend. He had come across countless Pokémon in his journey that was said to be nothing but a myth. Those stories weren’t just stories every time he came across something new. They had weight to them and he knew it the minute that he saw the Pokémon Mew. 

An Applin, huh? 

That could be the way to finally say what he wanted to say to Green without having to say anything. 

So, he was pointed in the right direction of where he might be able to look for such a creature, and off he went to see what he could make of this mystery. With the help of his Pikachu and Charizard, they managed to find the smallest speckle of green that looked out of place in the line of trees. 

His Pokèdex told him it was in fact, an Applin. This little thing was a dragon type of all things and he couldn’t believe it. Had Lance had one of these on his team back in the day, Red might have laughed. 

With one thunderbolt, it hopped to the ground and began a battle with him that pushed him to his limit. It was no match for his Pikachu, though, and it was caught within an instant and that was that. 

  
Which left him with a Pokeball and a plan to see through. 

Now, Red wasn’t a man of many words, or any words at all, for that matter. He didn’t have to say anything for people to know and understand what he was saying. Blue, even at his worst when they were kids always knew what he meant, and that was why it had been so right and so natural to get close to him. 

His heart always sped up whenever Blue read him a little too well. 

Red just hoped that this time, Blue might see underneath the little bit that he hadn’t quite ever caught onto before. 

The air was cold on the outskirts of Hammerlocke, and Red tucked the scarf that was around his neck a bit closer to himself to stave off the chill. At least it covered the blush on his face and kept it from being obvious. He could see Blue in the distance and when he raised his hand to wave at him, Blue waved back and walked over. 

He seemed a bit… odd. 

“Hey, Red,” he said, voice uneven. 

Red nodded in response. He was clutching the Pokeball tightly behind his back just waiting for the right moment, and he sucked in a breath. It was now or it was never, he couldn’t let things keep on going like this forever, so, he shut his eyes and pushed the object in front of him only to hear a bit of a nervous laugh. 

When Red opened his eyes, he realized that Blue was doing the same thing. 

“I… caught something that I thought you might like,” Blue said, eyeing that Pokeball in Red’s hands. “Is that what you’re trying to do here, too?”

Red only nodded his head in response. It was the most that he could muster at that moment as most of his energy was put into confronting this feeling. The two of them exchanged Pokeballs and then, without hesitation, let them loose in the air to reveal two Applin, one was red and one was green. 

Red and Blue shared a look. 

Neither of them had to say anything, but they both silently understood what the other was trying to confess. 

Blue smiled. 

Red smiled back. 


End file.
